"The first feeling is a sense of safety"

On Tuesday, the Russian publicist and independent journalist Arkady Babchenko reported on his Facebook that he decided to leave Russia and "live outside the God-presidential homeland." “Well, in general, hello, Prague,” he added, without explaining whether he was talking about emigration, but hinting that he became aware of the danger in Russia. In December 2016, Babchenko and blogger Bozhena Rynsk became objects of the real persecution for their posts after the collapse of the Tu-154 of the Russian Ministry of Defense over the Black Sea.

The Moscow Komsomolets publication (where Arkady Babchenko worked as a military correspondent in the beginning of the zero years) after the story with the Tu-154 disaster even proposed to adopt a law that allows the citizenship of those Russians who "allow expressions of glee over the tragic events for Russia." Babchenko stubbornly demolished thousands of angry comments on Facebook. After the death of the plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the UN Vitaly Churkin, who caused a new round of polarization in the Russian-language segment of the Internet, he wrote : "Ummm .... something I do not grieve again. Sorry."

A day later, Babchenko was already outside of Russia.

Arkady Babchenko went through the first and second Chechen wars, after dismissal to the reserve in 2000 he collaborated with many Russian publications, in addition to MK, he worked as a military commander in Novaya Gazeta, as an independent correspondent was covered by the Russian-Georgian conflict of 2008, events in the Euromaidan in Kyiv, a war of protest on Taxim Square in Taxim Square Istanbule. In recent years, he has become one of the most popular Russian bloggers: his notes and comments on the most discussed news are collected by many thousands of likes and hundreds of reposts.

In the spring of 2012, at the height of the rallies "for honest elections", the Russian authorities have already opened a criminal case against Arkady Babchenko under Part 3 of Art. 212 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Calls for Massion Riots") - because he called for a tent camp on one of the Moscow squares and wrote about the need to "fight off the police." Since then, nothing is known about the fate of this case, since then: except for the first interrogation , no investigative actions have been carried out with him, no one has also reported to him either.

In an interview with Radio, Freedom Arkady Babchenko spoke about his first impressions of Prague, whether it was possible to call his departure emigration and what caused his cause.

-Is it possible to call a tourist trip or is it still emigration?

- This is a temporary departure, because I have information that a criminal case can be instituted on me and can be imprisoned. Therefore, I decided so far to temporarily leave, so as not to put people in front of the torment of a difficult choice. But I hope that nevertheless, in the end, I briefly and hope to return to Russia. That is, this is not emigration as such.

-Do you have versions about what kind of criminal case it is, because of what it was instituted, and were there any hints of it when you still stayed in Russia?

- I don't know. The case has not yet been aroused, I just have information that it is right at the moment, what to do with me-to initiate a business and already plant it really, or to wave my hand-"the devil with him, let him write his posts on Facebook." But I did not wait for the comrades in the KGB to decide, and decided to stay here in Prague. By what article, why, for what - I do not know.

- Most likely, for the very “Facebook posts”, as you call them.

- It is clear what kind of journalistic activity, for political activity, for dissident, for dissent. It is clear what for these matters.

- Do you still burn bridges with Russia? How spontaneous was this departure? Are you preparing for him?

- No, in a couple of weeks they warned me, they said I gathered and left. But I repeat, I hope that this is all temporary.

- Recently was the departure of Peter Pavlensky . He was calmly allowed to leave, despite the threat of a criminal case. He concluded that the authorities are interested in the fact that people opposed to it leave the country. In your case, we are also talking about such voluntarily compulsory extrusion from the country?

If you don’t understand five times already, then you will be imprisoned of course

- This is now a generally accepted practice. They did not take the course on landing and repressions, because why do they need it-deprivation of will, international situation, human rights and the like, will again speak according to the BBC and Radio Liberty, how bad they are. They try to squeeze people out. They make hints, one hint, the second hint, then they say in open text, and if you don’t understand five times, then, of course, you will be imprisoned. And so they do not want to plant people, on the contrary, they try to squeeze them out of the country and let them leave. This is not only Pavlensky, so it was with many. And Rustem Adagamov lives here, and Sasha Sotnik left, but then he still returned to Russia. And I hope I will return. But directly to arrange such repressions - they do not have such a desire. There is an emphasis precisely on squeezing out of the country or the impossibility of returning.

- Have you had thoughts about departure earlier, after a reaction to your posts, notes, journalism?

- Yes, every day of God! Because, in the end, this is annoying. You get tired of being afraid for yourself, for the family in the first place. No further than six months ago, to the husband of Lyubov Sobol, the lawyer of the Fund for the fight against Navalny's corruption, some morons approached near the entrance and made a syringe . It is clear that this is a hint. It is not clear what your post of next scumbags will excite and what actions they will begin to take there.

- Your relatives and friends still stay in Russia?

- Now, at the moment, so far with me.

- On the Internet, many are interested in how you will earn a living here, what you will do so as not to lose touch with the political Russian reality, which you mainly write about.

- Not the slightest performance! I don't know yet. Good people gave housing, while I have no questions with this. And how will it be next - let's see. I hope that I will return in the end.

-You already felt some change in the perception of Russia, having come here not just as a tourist, for several days, but for a longer period?

When you leave Russia, the perception of life is changing

- I probably can hardly change the perception of this country. I visited a pair of wars that she started, went on revolutions, couples, was in “monkey”, catalahs, and therefore I perfectly imagine what kind of country it is, what kind of regime and what they are capable of. Therefore, I am not going to sell a tractor or change it on a portrait of Stalin and hang it on the wall, as is the case with the piglet Peter . I, apparently, will not become a “remote patriot”. In the end, a very good vaccination was made to me. But, of course, when you leave Russia, the perception of life is changing, because the life of a dissident in Russia is a constant expectation. The elevator worked - you are running to the eye to look, after you or not for you. So today I caught myself thinking that I looked out the window - I had two cars tinted under my window, and I did not care about who these people did not have any tension or fear, there was not even a thought about it, and suddenly it came for me. So here, of course, life becomes completely relaxed. Here is the first, the very first feeling that comes to you as soon as you cross the border of Russia is a sense of security.

-You are not afraid that Internet commentators, those people who wrote you hateful comments after your most resonant posts, that one of them live not only in Russia, but also here? In general, after your departure, did you receive another wave of this kind of comments? Or, conversely, these commentators rejoice: dumped, and well done?

- They mainly, of course, rejoice, such as another traitor dumped, the air in Russia will be cleaner. Of course, there are threats and messages filled with hatred, but in this case I do not care. I am now in a country that absolutely, absolutely, one hundred percent will not use its repressive state apparatus against me. So let them at least come to me, I don't care about them. I can stand up for myself! If the entire state apparatus does not put pressure on me - but do not care what they write there, absolutely.